{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae}} {{distinguish|Vitis}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Vitex altissima L.f.jpg |image_caption = ''Vitex altissima'' |taxon = Vitex |authority = L.<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000069-2 |title=''Vitex'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=13 April 2026}}</ref> |type_species = ''Vitex agnus-castus'' |type_species_authority = L. |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = ''see text'' |synonyms_ref = {{R|POWO}} |synonyms = {{species list|header=21 synonyms|hidden=yes |Agnus-castus |Tourn. ex Carrière |Allasia |Lour. |Casarettoa |Walp. |Chrysomallum |Thouars |Limia |Vand. |Macrostegia |Nees |Mailelou |Adans. |Neorapinia |Moldenke |Nephrandra |Willd. |Paravitex |H.R.Fletcher |Pistaciovitex |Kuntze |Psilogyne |DC. |Pyrostoma |G.Mey. |Rapinia |Montrouz. |Tripinna |Lour. |Tripinnaria |Pers. |Tsoongia |Merr. |Varengevillea |Baill. |Viticipremna |H.J.Lam |Wallrothia |Roth |Wilckea |Scop. }} }}
'''''Vitex''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae containing about 210 species. Common names include '''chaste tree''' or '''chastetree''', traditionally referring to ''V. agnus-castus'', but often applied to other species, as well, and '''pūriri''' for the New Zealand species ''V. lucens''.{{Not verified in body|date=April 2026}} Species of ''Vitex'' are native throughout the tropics and subtropics, with a few species in warm-temperate Eurasia and one in New Zealand.<ref name="mabberley2008">David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK.</ref>
==Description== ''Vitex'' is a genus of shrubs and trees, from 1–40 m tall.<ref name=rhs/> Some species have whitish bark that is characteristically furrowed. The leaves are opposite, usually palmately compound, with three to seven leaflets; a few have simple leaves. Most are evergreen, but a few, including ''V. agnus-castus'' and ''V. negundo'', are deciduous; some have scented foliage.<ref name=rhs/> The flowers can be white, yellow, or violet, depending on the species; they are fragrant, and produced in terminal branched spikes or panicles.<ref name=rhs/> The fruit is a fleshy red, purple, or black drupe.<ref name=rhs/><ref>{{cite book|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-CheManu-t1-body1-d58-d2.html|title=Manual of the New Zealand Flora|chapter=''Vitex'' Linn.}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== The genus ''Vitex'' was named by Carl Linnaeus in ''Species Plantarum'' in 1753.<ref name="linnaeus1753">Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. ''Species Plantarum'' 2:706. Laurentii Salvii. (see ''External Links'' below).</ref> ''Vitex'' was the name used by Pliny the Elder for ''V. agnus-castus''. It is derived from the Latin word ''vieo'', meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of ''V. agnus-castus'' in basketry.<ref name="quattrocchi2000">Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume I, page 91. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, US. London, UK. {{ISBN|978-0-8493-2673-8}} (set). (see ''External links'' below).</ref>
As a result of phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences, ''Vitex'' is one of several genera that were transferred from the Verbenaceae to the Lamiaceae in the 1990s. It is the largest genus in the subfamily Viticoideae of Lamiaceae.<ref name="KUBITZKI"/> Taxon sampling in molecular phylogenetic studies has never been sufficient to test the monophyly of the Viticoideae, but it is generally thought to be an unnatural group.<ref name="unauthored">Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae. At: Website of Kew Gardens. (see ''External links'' below).</ref> The subfamily is probably diphyletic, with ''Premna'', ''Gmelina'', and ''Cornutia'' constituting one clade, and with ''Vitex'', ''Petitia'', ''Pseudocarpidium'', and ''Teijsmanniodendron'' constituting the other.<ref name="bramley2009">Gemma L.C. Bramley, Félix Forest, and Rogier P.J. de Kok. 2009. "Troublesome tropical mints: re-examining generic limits of ''Vitex'' and relations (Lamiaceae) in South East Asia". ''Taxon'' '''58'''(2):500-510.</ref>
The type species is ''Vitex agnus-castus''.<ref name="IPNI">{{cite web | title=''Vitex'' | website=International Plant Names Index | url=https://www.ipni.org/n/30000069-2 | access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref> In 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that three small genera, ''Paravitex'', ''Viticipremna'', and ''Tsoongia'', are embedded in ''Vitex''. These three genera were duly sunk into synonymy with ''Vitex''.<ref name="bramley2009"/>
''Pseudocarpidium'', ''Petitia'', and ''Teijsmanniodendron'' possibly are nested within ''Vitex''. Sampling in the 2009 study was not sufficient to determine the phylogenetic position of these genera. The relationships of ''Teijsmanniodendron'' to these genera was not discussed in a revision of ''Teijsmanniodendron'' in 2009.<ref name="dekok2009">Rogier P.J. de Kok, Go Rusea, and Abdul Latiff. 2009. "The Genus ''Teijsmanniodendron'' Koord. (Lamiaceae)". ''Kew Bulletin'' '''64'''(4):587-625.</ref>
{{gallery|mode=packed|height=120 |Starr-120606-6935-Vitex rotundifolia-flowers and leaves-Kahanu Gardens Hana-Maui (24848873570).jpg|''Vitex rotundifolia'' |Vitex patula 1DS-II 3-2550.jpg|''Vitex patula'' |Vitex trifolia from Kavvai Beech, Payyannur, Kannur.jpg|''Vitex trifolia'' |Vitex cannabifolia1.jpg|''Vitex negundo'' var. ''negundo'' }}
===Species=== {{As of|2026|04}}, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 211 species:{{R|POWO}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=18em| *''Vitex acuminata'' {{small|R.Br.}} *''Vitex acunae'' {{small|Borhidi & O.Muñiz}} *''Vitex agelaeifolia'' {{small|Mildbr. ex W.Piep.}} *''Vitex agnus-castus'' {{small|L.}} *''Vitex ajugiflora'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex altissima'' {{small|L.f.}} *''Vitex amaniensis'' {{small|W.Piep.}} *''Vitex angolensis'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex arvensis'' {{small|Gentallan, Sengun & M.B.Bartolome}} *''Vitex aurea'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex axillariflora'' {{small|(Merr.) Bramley}} *''Vitex barorum'' {{small|(Humbert) Callm. & Phillipson}} *''Vitex befotakensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex benuensis'' {{small|Engl. ex W.Piep.}} *''Vitex beraviensis'' {{small|Vatke}} *''Vitex betsiliensis'' {{small|Humbert}} *''Vitex bicolor'' {{small|Willd.}} *''Vitex bogalensis'' {{small|Wernham}} *''Vitex bojeri'' {{small|Schauer}} *''Vitex bracteata'' {{small|Scott Elliot}} *''Vitex brevilabiata'' {{small|Ducke}} *''Vitex brevipetiolata'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex buchananii'' {{small|Baker ex Gürke}} *''Vitex burmensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex caespitosa'' {{small|Exell}} *''Vitex calothyrsa'' {{small|Sandwith}} *''Vitex canescens'' {{small|Kurz}} *''Vitex capitata'' {{small|Vahl}} *''Vitex carbunculorum'' {{small|W.W.Sm. & Ramaswami}} *''Vitex cauliflora'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex cestroides'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex chrysleriana'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex chrysocarpa'' {{small|Planch.}} *''Vitex ciliata'' {{small|Pierre ex Pellegr.}} *''Vitex clementis'' {{small|Britton & P.Wilson}} *''Vitex cochinchinensis'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex cofassus'' {{small|Reinw. ex Blume}} *''Vitex collina'' {{small|(Montrouz.) Beauvis.}} *''Vitex columbiensis'' {{small|Pittier}} *''Vitex compressa'' {{small|Turcz.}} *''Vitex congolensis'' {{small|De Wild. & T.Durand}} *''Vitex cooperi'' {{small|Standl.}} *''Vitex coursii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex cuspidata'' {{small|Hiern}} *''Vitex cymosa'' {{small|Bertero ex Spreng.}} *''Vitex degeneriana'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex dinklagei'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex discoideoglandulosa'' {{small|De Wild.}} *''Vitex divaricata'' {{small|Sw.}} *''Vitex diversifolia'' {{small|Kurz ex C.B.Clarke}} *''Vitex djumaensis'' {{small|De Wild.}} *''Vitex doniana'' {{small|Sweet}} *''Vitex duckei'' {{small|Huber}} *''Vitex duclouxii'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex eberhardtii'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex elakelakensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex elmeri'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex excelsa'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex farafanganensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex ferruginea'' {{small|Schumach. & Thonn.}} *''Vitex fischeri'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex flava'' {{small|Ridl.}} *''Vitex flavens'' {{small|Kunth}} *''Vitex floridula'' {{small|Duchass. & Walp.}} *''Vitex francesiana'' {{small|I.Darbysh. & Goyder}} *''Vitex froesii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex gabunensis'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex gamosepala'' {{small|Griff.}} *''Vitex gardneriana'' {{small|Schauer}} *''Vitex gaumeri'' {{small|Greenm.}} *''Vitex gigantea'' {{small|Kunth}} *''Vitex glabrata'' {{small|R.Br.}} *''Vitex golungensis'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex grandidiana'' {{small|W.Piep.}} *''Vitex grandifolia'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex guanahacabibensis'' {{small|Borhidi}} *''Vitex guianensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex harveyana'' {{small|H.Pearson}} *''Vitex hemsleyi'' {{small|Briq.}} *''Vitex heptaphylla'' {{small|A.Juss.}} *''Vitex hirsutissima'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex hispidissima'' {{small|(Seem.) Callm. & Phillipson}} *''Vitex holoadenon'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex holocalyx'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex humbertii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex humblotiana'' {{small|Callm. & Phillipson}} *''Vitex hypoleuca'' {{small|Schauer}} *''Vitex ibarensis'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex integrifolia'' {{small|Urb.}} *''Vitex iraquensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex klugii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex krukovii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex kwangsiensis'' {{small|C.Pei}} *''Vitex lanigera'' {{small|Schauer}} *''Vitex lastellei'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex leandrii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex leucoxylon'' {{small|L.f.}} *''Vitex lignum-vitae'' {{small|A.Cunn. ex Schauer}} *''Vitex limonifolia'' {{small|Wall. ex C.B.Clarke}} *''Vitex lindenii'' {{small|Hook.f.}} *''Vitex lobata'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex lokundjensis'' {{small|W.Piep.}} *''Vitex longisepala'' {{small|King & Gamble}} *''Vitex lowryi'' {{small|Callm., Phillipson & G.E.Schatz}} *''Vitex lucens'' {{small|Kirk}} *''Vitex macrofoliola'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex madagascariensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex madiensis'' {{small|Oliv.}} *''Vitex maranhana'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex marquesii'' {{small|W.Piep.}} *''Vitex martii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex masoalensis'' {{small|G.E.Schatz}} *''Vitex masoniana'' {{small|Pittier}} *''Vitex mcphersonii'' {{small|Callm. & Phillipson}} *''Vitex medusaecalyx'' {{small|H.J.Lam}} *''Vitex megapotamica'' {{small|(Spreng.) Moldenke}} *''Vitex melicopea'' {{small|F.Muell.}} *''Vitex melleri'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex menabeensis'' {{small|Capuron}} *''Vitex micrantha'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex microphylla'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex millsii'' {{small|M.R.Hend.}} *''Vitex mollis'' {{small|Kunth}} *''Vitex mombassae'' {{small|Vatke}} *''Vitex mooiensis'' {{small|H.Pearson}} *''Vitex morogoroensis'' {{small|Walsingham & S.Atkins}} *''Vitex mossambicensis'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex negundo'' {{small|L.}} *''Vitex novae-pommeraniae'' {{small|Warb.}} *''Vitex obovata'' {{small|E.Mey.}} *''Vitex orinocensis'' {{small|Kunth}} *''Vitex oscitans'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex oxycuspis'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex pachyclada'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex panshiniana'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex parviflora'' {{small|A.Juss.}} *''Vitex patula'' {{small|E.A.Bruce}} *''Vitex payos'' {{small|(Lour.) Merr.}} *''Vitex peduncularis'' {{small|Wall. ex Schauer}} *''Vitex perrieri'' {{small|Danguy}} *''Vitex pervillei'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex petersiana'' {{small|Klotzsch}} *''Vitex phillyreifolia'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex pierreana'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex pierrei'' {{small|Craib}} *''Vitex pinnata'' {{small|L.}} *''Vitex polygama'' {{small|Cham.}} *''Vitex pomerana'' {{small|Fraga, Antar, J.Freitas & Lírio}} *''Vitex pooara'' {{small|Corbishley}} *''Vitex praetervisa'' {{small|Borhidi}} *''Vitex pseudolea'' {{small|Rusby}} *''Vitex pulchra'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex pyramidata'' {{small|B.L.Rob.}} *''Vitex queenslandica'' {{small|(Munir) Bramley}} *''Vitex quinata'' {{small|(Lour.) F.N.Williams}} *''Vitex rabenantoandroi'' {{small|Callm. & Phillipson}} *''Vitex regnelliana'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex rehmannii'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex resinifera'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex rivularis'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex rotundifolia'' {{small|L.f.}} *''Vitex rubra'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex rubroaurantiaca'' {{small|De Wild.}} *''Vitex rufescens'' {{small|A.Juss.}} *''Vitex sampsonii'' {{small|Hance}} *''Vitex scabra'' {{small|Wall. ex Schauer}} *''Vitex scandens'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex schaueriana'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex schliebenii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex schomburgkiana'' {{small|Schauer}} *''Vitex schunkei'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex seineri'' {{small|Gürke ex Piep.}} *''Vitex sellowiana'' {{small|Cham.}} *''Vitex siamica'' {{small|F.N.Williams}} *''Vitex snethlagiana'' {{small|Huber ex Moldenke}} *''Vitex sprucei'' {{small|Briq.}} *''Vitex stahelii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex stellata'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex strickeri'' {{small|Vatke & Hildebrandt}} *''Vitex stylosa'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex teloravina'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex thailandica'' {{small|Bramley}} *''Vitex thorelii'' {{small|Dop}} *''Vitex thyrsiflora'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex tomentosa'' {{small|(Munir) Bramley}} *''Vitex tomentulosa'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex trichantha'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex triflora'' {{small|Vahl}} *''Vitex trifolia'' {{small|L.}} *''Vitex tripinnata'' {{small|(Lour.) Merr.}} *''Vitex tristis'' {{small|Scott Elliot}} *''Vitex turczaninowii'' {{small|Merr.}} *''Vitex ugogoensis'' {{small|Verdc.}} *''Vitex umbrosa'' {{small|Sw.}} *''Vitex uniflora'' {{small|Baker}} *''Vitex urbanii'' {{small|(Ekman) Bramley}} *''Vitex vansteenisii'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex vauthieri'' {{small|DC. ex Schauer}} *''Vitex velutinifolia'' {{small|Munir}} *''Vitex vestita'' {{small|Wall. ex Walp.}} *''Vitex villosissima'' {{small|(Moldenke) Callm. & Phillipson}} *''Vitex vitilevuensis'' {{small|(Munir) Bramley}} *''Vitex vondrozensis'' {{small|Moldenke}} *''Vitex waterlotii'' {{small|Danguy}} *''Vitex wimberleyi'' {{small|Kurz}} *''Vitex yaundensis'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex yunnanensis'' {{small|W.W.Sm.}} *''Vitex zanzibarensis'' {{small|Vatke}} *''Vitex zenkeri'' {{small|Gürke}} *''Vitex zeyheri'' {{small|Sond. ex Schauer}} *''Vitex zigzag'' {{small|Callm. & Phillipson}} }}
==Uses== A number species are grown in cultivation. ''V. agnus-castus'' and ''V. negundo'' are the species most often planted in warm temperate European gardens;<ref name=rhs>{{cite book | last1=Huxley | first1=Anthony | last2=Griffiths | first2=Mark | last3=Levy |first3=Margot | title=New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening | publisher=Macmillan Stockton press | publication-place=London New York | date=1992 | isbn=1-56159-001-0 | volume=4 | pages=676–677 }}</ref> several others are frequently grown in the tropics.<ref name="staples2005">George W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst "A Tropical Garden Flora" Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu (2005)</ref> Most of the cultivated species serve as ornamental plants. Some provide valuable timber. The flexible twigs of some species are used in basket weaving.<ref name="mabberley2008"/> Some of the aromatic species are used medicinally<ref name="staples2005"/><ref name="Vitex doniana">{{cite journal|vauthors=Tadzabia K, Maina HM, Maitera ON, Osunlaja AA | title=Elemental and Phytochemical Screening of Vitex Doniana Leaves and Stem Bark in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria| journal=International Journal of Chemical Studies| year= 2013 | volume= 1 | issue= 3 | pages= 165–172 | url=http://www.chemijournal.com/vol1Issue3/sep2013/43.1.pdf}}</ref> or to repel mosquitos.<ref name="staples2005"/>
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="KUBITZKI">{{Cite book |editor-last=Kubitzki |editor-first=Klaus |title=Flowering Plants, Dicotyledons: Lamiales (except Acanthaceae, including Avicenniaceae) |series=The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants |volume=VII |chapter=Labiatae |last1=Harley |first1=R.M. |last2=Atkins |first2=S. |last3=Budantsev |first3=A.L. |last4=Cantino |first4=P.D. |last5=Conn |first5=B.J. |last6=Grayer |first6=R. |last7=Harley |first7=M.M. |last8=de Kok |first8=R. |last9=Krestovskaja |first9=T. |last10=Morales |first10=R. |last11=Paton |first11=A.J. |last12=Ryding |first12=O. |last13=Upson |first13=T. |page=195 |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-642-62200-7 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-18617-2}}</ref> }}
==Further reading== * Ray Harley, "In search of Labiatae in Eastern Brazil", ''Vitex: A Newsletter for Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae Research'', {{ISSN|1470-0123}}, [http://www.kew.org/data/vitex/jan00.pdf Issue 1], February 2000, page 5.
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}} * {{Wikispecies-inline}} * [http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/genera/lamiaceaegen.html List of Genera in Lamiaceae], Missouri Botanical Garden * [http://botany.si.edu/ing/INGsearch.cfm?searchword=Vitex ''Vitex''], Index Nominum Genericorum * [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/13830#80 ''Vitex''] in Biodiversity Heritage Library * [http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9780849326783 CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: R-Z] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080907184212/http://www.kew.org/scihort/directory/projects/SystLamiSfViticoidea.html Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q132607}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Vitex Category:Lamiaceae genera Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus